Thousands of people took to the streets on Tuesday to protest against disputed parliamentary elections in Russia.

Allegations of corruption in Sunday's parliamentary election were rife, and demonstrators defied a ban on unapproved rallies in Moscow city centre to dispute the official results.

The police arrested at least 300 protesters in the biggest protest seen in Russia for years. Opposition leaders stood in front of a poster proclaiming, 'The election is a farce!".

The protestors came up against pro-Kremlin activists rallying to support Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin's United Russia party won with just under 50% of the vote, a sharp drop in its support.

Foreign monitors claimed that cyber-attacks and harassment of officials had invalidated the result of the poll.

The protests have been happening since Sunday and show little sign of abating. People were held after similar protests in St Petersburg and also in Rostov-on-Don

Putin will be running for president early in 2012, he is almost certain to win unless there is a dramatic change in the system.

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Russian Communist Party supporters wear scarves with the color and emblem of the Communist Party gather together to protest against official results of the parliaments elections in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. The Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote, getting nearly 20 percent, up from less than 12 percent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party led by mercurial nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are also expected to increase their representation in the Duma; both have generally voted with United Russia, and the Communists pose only token opposition.

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Russian Communist Party supporters wear scarves with the color and emblem of the Communist Party gather together to protest against official results of the parliaments elections in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. The Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote, getting nearly 20 percent, up from less than 12 percent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party led by mercurial nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are also expected to increase their representation in the Duma; both have generally voted with United Russia, and the Communists pose only token opposition.

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Russian Communist Party supporters wear scarves with the color and emblem of the Communist Party gather together to protest against official results of the parliaments elections in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. The Communist Party appeared to benefit most from the protest vote, getting nearly 20 percent, up from less than 12 percent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party led by mercurial nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are also expected to increase their representation in the Duma; both have generally voted with United Russia, and the Communists pose only token opposition.

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